Most frequent questions and answers
Housing for which the occupant(s) is/are paying no more than 30 percent of their income for gross housing costs, including utilities. Households that pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care and are considered cost burdened by HUD. Households that pay more than 50 percent of their income for housing are considered severely cost burdened.
The average income earned by families and individuals living in a defined geographic location. If an individual earns $40K a year in a city where the median income for individuals is $80K, he/she is earning 50% of the city’s media income.
HUD uses the median income for families in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas to calculate income limits for eligibility in a variety of housing programs.*